1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improvement for dual inline package (DIP) switch and particularly to a DIP switch which uses one contact integrally formed with an actuator so that it becomes smaller size, lower cost to produce and more durable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
"Lighter, smaller, thinner and shorter" has become a widely pursuing trend in the design of electronic devices and electrical appliances nowadays. It is particularly notable in the notebook PC industry. Most producers put a great deal of investments and efforts trying to shrink the size and cut the weight of the PC related parts and peripherals. IC board is one of the key components under constant scrutinization in this respect. Some complex IC boards have included DIP switch. A smaller DIP switch will certainly help to cut the size of the IC board.
FIG. 1 shows a typical conventional DIP switch. It includes a cover A, a base B and a plural number of moveable actuators C. Each actuator C has a contact D riveted at the bottom thereof. The contact D is slantly extended at both sides of the base B and is firmly supported by a pair of spaced legs E from the bottom to prevent the contact D from deforming. By moving the actuator C in one way or another, the contact D will make contact or uncontact with the terminal F, then an ON or OFF connection will be established. A conventional DIP switch such as the one set forth above is difficult to shrink to a smaller size. It also has a number of drawbacks when trying to do so. E. g, when a finished product is under IR furnace process, the temperature of the DIP switch tends to rise faster and higher than IC board or other larger size parts. DIP switch is thus easier to deform than other large size parts. The riveting of the contact D to the actuator C is done by a separate operation and is difficult. The legs E has to be relatively short and small size. In the injection process, its dimensions become difficult to control. It is prone to form fluffy edges. When binding the cover A to the base B by high frequency welding, it could also happen that the legs E will stick to the base B. Furthermore, cutting the height of the legs E will reduce its supporting power to the contact D. The contact D is prone to deform during test or after long time of use. All this are problems existed in the conventional DIP switch waiting to be fixed.